Is Your Dream Home Slipping Away? White House Unveils Shocking New Affordability Plans!

On Wednesday, leaders from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) expressed cautious optimism regarding recent federal moves aimed at resolving the acute shortage of single-family homes available for sale. President Donald Trump’s executive order issued on Tuesday seeks to make homeownership more attainable for Americans, particularly first-time buyers, emphasizing that “the American dream has been increasingly out of reach for too many of our citizens.” This sentiment was echoed during his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The executive order primarily aims to protect homeownership for American families by curtailing the trend of large investors, who often have substantial resources, from acquiring starter and single-family homes. Specifically, it proposes to bar Wall Street-style investors from purchasing single-family homes using government loan products, which are intended for individual home buyers, particularly those entering the market for the first time.

According to Shannon McGahn, NAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer, the order aligns with NAR's ongoing advocacy for research into affordable housing and a clear definition of “large institutional investors.” For years, NAR has urged policymakers at all levels to tackle the dual crises of affordability and low inventory. A report released by NAR in November revealed that the average age of first-time home buyers has risen to 40, with these buyers comprising just 21% of the home-buying market between mid-2024 and mid-2025. McGahn labeled these figures as a troubling indicator for the middle class and the overall economy.

While the percentage of first-time buyers has made a slight recovery, nearing 30% due to reduced interest rates and price adjustments in certain markets, this remains historically low. The challenges, particularly a surge in all-cash buyers, continue to hinder those attempting to purchase their first home. To address these ongoing obstacles, NAR’s Advocacy Group has proposed a comprehensive list of solutions aimed at easing the housing crisis, advocating for federal incentives to promote sales to owner-occupants.

Key Provisions of the Executive Order

The executive order issued on January 20 includes several critical actions:

• It instructs Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to collaborate with the White House’s economic policy team to define “large institutional investors” and “single-family home” for the purposes of enforcing the order.
• Federal departments including the Department of Treasury, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Agriculture, and others are directed to provide guidance within 60 days to prevent federal programs from facilitating sales of single-family homes to large institutional investors while promoting sales to individual owner-occupants through mechanisms such as first-look offers and disclosure rules.
• The Treasury is also tasked with evaluating whether there should be changes in the rules governing the acquisition of single-family homes by large investors and whether the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission should explore antitrust actions against coordinated vacancy and pricing strategies by these entities.

Importantly, the order includes an exemption for build-to-rent properties that are specifically designed as rental communities, along with provisions for narrowly tailored exceptions.

In a broader context, NAR's research indicates that entity purchases of single-family homes have remained fairly stable over the past decade, averaging in the mid-teens. Most of this activity is led by LLCs, with corporations alone accounting for only 3.2% of these purchases in 2024. Concerns surrounding private equity investment in single-family homes have grown, with critics arguing that large cash-rich entities are displacing potential first-time buyers in key markets.

Legislation has been introduced in recent years aimed at limiting the influence of large institutional investors by removing certain tax benefits they currently enjoy, like depreciation and interest expense deductions. NAR’s Federal Taxation Committee has been proactively addressing this issue since 2022, exploring both disincentives for institutional investment and incentives aimed at encouraging these investors to sell properties to first-time buyers. Ultimately, NAR has endorsed tax incentives that suggest a lower capital gains tax rate for sales to first-time buyers and a more lenient timeframe for 1031 like-kind exchanges.

As discussions surrounding this executive order unfold, it has become a focal point at NAR’s Advocacy Week, which commenced recently, bringing together hundreds of volunteer leaders in Washington, D.C., for policy discussions and training. A significant policy forum is scheduled for January 23, where industry leaders and policymakers will engage in dialogues about housing affordability both now and in the future. The outcomes of these discussions could have lasting implications for prospective homebuyers and the broader housing market in the United States.